William Cooper Marketing Director Date Published: 31/05/2022 Last Updated: 09/02/2024 Modern medicine as we know it has certainly made leaps and bounds in terms of improvement over the last 30 or so years. With the advances in medicine and technology, over the previous 15 years, we have an increased life expectancy by 10 years and deaths from communicable diseases decrease. That, however, comes with a caveat–research shows that deaths from heart disease, strokes and chronic kidney damage have increased. This is perhaps indicative that while people are living longer, they aren’t living healthier. We take a look at the most popular forms of alternative medicines from around the world and how they can compliment medical treatments to help with health conditions. Chiropractic and osteopathy treatments are popular across the world / GETTY IMAGES Alternative medicines and the countries where they are thriving With waiting times at the doctors being a nightmare, on the rare occasion that you manage to get an appointment, it would not be counterintuitive for people to seek out other medical practitioners. That is where complementary alternative medicine (CAM) comes in, with techniques that have shown to help with a wide array of ailments–however, it is certainly not a cure-all type of magical medicine. We have compiled a list of countries and forms of alternative medicine, to determine which forms are most popular and where in the world they are most commonly being utilised, using Google Search data. Also, don’t forget to check out our international health insurance, to ensure that you’re able to get the medical care you need when you need it. Without further ado, let’s get this underway. What are the most popular forms of alternative medicine worldwide? Based on the number of Google searches worldwide, the most popular forms of alternative medicines worldwide are: Rank Alternative Medicine Number of annual Google searches 1 Fasting 70,080,000 2 Chiropractic 17,820,000 3 Gua sha 12,491,000 4 Chakra 11,335,000 5 Thai massage 10,885,000 6 Acupuncture 8,907,000 7 Reiki 7,953,000 8 Feng shui 6,523,000 9 Ayurveda 5,500,000 10 Echinacea 4,759,000 11 Reflexology 4,260,000 12 5 htp 3,880,000 12 Osteopathy 3,880,000 14 Qi 3,679,000 15 Homeopathy 3,636,000 16 Massage therapy 3,227,000 17 Colon cleansing 1,962,000 18 Naturopathy 1,685,000 19 Ear candling 1,635,000 20 Aromatherapy 1,600,000 Show MoreShow Less The top 5 most popular forms of alternative medicine from around the world 1/ Fasting Number of annual Google searches: 70,080,000 Fasting is probably better known as a popular dieting trend, however, it can also be used as a form of alternative medicine. Fasting promotes better metabolic health and can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation – which is one of the ways the body fights disease, however too much can be bad. It may also contribute to the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases – two prevalent health conditions that people often deal with. 2/ Chiropractic Number of annual Google searches: 17,820,000 Many people may lump this in with massage, however, chiropractic practices are somewhat different to those applied to the much more vague school of massage. Massage is a practice that targets muscles, whereas chiropractors are concerned with the spine and its alignment. It is used to treat back, shoulder and neck pain, as well as osteoarthritis. It can also be used to treat a herniated spinal disc, where adjustments are made to your back to realign your spine. 3/ Gua Sha Number of annual Google searches: 12,491,000 Gua Sha has recently been making a comeback in the skincare community, this ancient form of Chinese alternative medicine is used to increase the skin’s circulation, specifically and most commonly in the face. The Gua Sha is a stone or massaging tool that is rubbed against the skin, which scrapes away dead skin while massaging. However, in many cases, it is used to scrape away the skin to cause mild petechiae to release “unhealthy body matter”. It is used to treat joint pain, arthritis and even headaches. 4/ Chakra Number of annual Google searches: 11,335,000 Many of you will have heard of Chakras from Avatar the Last Airbender, despite that, it has applications in the real world too. The belief is, that everyone has seven chakras, the crown, the third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus sacral and root chakras and these are the centre of your life energy. The focus is on using exercises and techniques to maintain the alignment of your chakras, which in turn maintains your health. 5/ Thai Massage Number of annual Google searches: 10,885,000 A Thai massage has a few subtle differences from a regular massage, you lay on a mat instead of a table and the practitioner manipulates your body to stimulate your organs and increase flexibility. Similar to Chinese medicine and chakras, it involves working with the body’s energy pathways to influence good health. How much does medical treatment cost abroad? Find out before you go Reiki treatment is one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine / GETTY IMAGES In which countries is alternative medicine more common? Alternative medicines are most common in the following countries: Rank Country Number of annual Google searches Population Annual Google searches per 100,000 people 1 Canada 8,131,740 37,742,154 21,546 2 United Kingdom 11,923,230 67,886,011 17,564 3 United States 50,603,100 331,002,651 15,288 4 Switzerland 1,224,670 8,654,622 14,150 5 Netherlands 2,398,300 17,134,872 13,997 6 Belgium 1,169,060 11,589,623 10,087 7 France 5,815,080 65,273,511 8,909 8 Germany 7,264,210 83,783,942 8,670 9 Malaysia 2,595,880 32,365,999 8,020 10 Algeria 3,318,320 43,851,044 7,567 11 Argentina 3,391,410 45,195,774 7,504 12 Peru 2,253,780 32,971,854 6,835 13 Brazil 13,010,540 212,559,417 6,121 14 Mexico 7,767,370 128,932,753 6,024 15 Spain 2,371,140 46,754,778 5,071 16 Egypt 4,824,900 102,334,404 4,715 17 Italy 2,685,160 60,461,826 4,441 18 Morocco 1,510,970 36,910,560 4,094 19 Turkey 3,408,950 84,339,067 4,042 20 Philippines 4,209,720 109,581,078 3,842 21 Colombia 1,858,290 50,882,891 3,652 22 Romania 666,220 19,237,691 3,463 23 Poland 1,305,020 37,846,611 3,448 24 Saudi Arabia 991,000 34,813,871 2,847 25 Iraq 1,130,830 40,222,493 2,811 26 South Africa 1,528,150 59,308,690 2,577 27 Thailand 1,528,970 69,799,978 2,191 28 Bangladesh 3,099,690 164,689,383 1,882 29 Uzbekistan 511,220 33,469,203 1,527 30 India 20,350,620 1,380,004,385 1,475 31 Japan 1,837,430 126,476,461 1,453 32 Nepal 421,230 29,136,808 1,446 33 Vietnam 948,860 97,338,579 975 34 Indonesia 2,079,850 273,523,615 760 35 Ghana 227,200 31,072,940 731 36 Pakistan 1,542,100 220,892,340 698 37 Yemen 203,680 29,825,964 683 38 Kenya 357,380 53,771,296 665 39 South Korea 312,160 51,269,185 609 40 Ukraine 227,230 43,733,762 520 Show MoreShow Less Top 5 countries where alternative medicine is more common 1/ Canada Annual Google searches per 100,000 people: 21,546 A study shows that in 2016, around 79% of Canadians had used at least one type of complementary alternative medicine in their lifetime, making it no surprise that it ranks as our country where its use is most common. Over the last year, Canadians logged 21,546 searches per 100,000 people for an extensive list of nearly 200 forms of alternative medicine. 2/ United Kingdom Annual Google searches per 100,000 people: 17,564 Another study in 2015, by the University of Bristol, showed that only 16% of the population actively used alternative medicine. While this is considerably lower than in Canada, there are plenty of degrees to study alternative medicine in the UK – it does seem to be something that is gradually on the rise. 3/ United States Annual Google searches per 100,000 people: 15,288 According to CNN in 2015, about a third of the USA’s population used or had tried a form of alternative medicine. The most common and conventional forms of alternative medicine used in the USA are chiropractic practices, herbal and dietary supplements and also acupuncture. 4/ Switzerland Annual Google searches per 100,000 people: 14,150 Alternative medicine has been growing in popularity and usage in Switzerland since 2007, and in 2012 when the government ran a survey, 25% of the population aged 15 years or older had used alternative medicine in the last 12 months. It’s popular to the point that a country as small as Switzerland can compete with the UK, USA and Canada in this ranking. Finally, Switzerland has a national company based in Geneva called Swiss Alternative Medicine, offering training, information and personalised treatments. 5/ Netherlands Annual Google searches per 100,000 people: 13,997 In the Netherlands, there aren’t as many university courses that allow people to study alternative medicines, so people who practice things like acupuncture and massage therapy have to study abroad to do so. Massage and chiropractic therapies are the most commonly used in the country, coming first and second as the most searched – with over 13,997 searches per annum. Want more expat content?Subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter! Enter your email address EmailThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Chakra meditation is a popular alternative medicine / GETTY IMAGES In which cities in the UK are alternative medicine more common? Based on the number of annual Google searches per 100,000 people, the UK cities where alternative medicine is more common are: Rank City Number of annual Google searches Population (2019) Google searches per 10,000 people 1 Bristol 160,660 463,405 3,467 2 Manchester 163,730 547,627 2,990 3 Liverpool 134,150 494,814 2,711 4 Glasgow 163,260 626,410 2,606 5 Newcastle 72,730 300,196 2,423 6 Edinburgh 123,700 518,500 2,386 7 Leicester 81,650 355,218 2,299 8 London 2,041,020 8,908,081 2,291 9 Nottingham 72,340 331,069 2,185 10 Birmingham 236,640 1,141,374 2,073 11 Belfast 69,610 341,877 2,036 12 Northampton 42,120 225,146 2,004 13 Aberdeen 44,230 227,560 1,944 14 Derby 48,880 257,174 1,901 15 Brighton 53,680 290,395 1,849 16 Leeds 145,060 789,194 1,838 17 Sheffield 97,840 582,506 1,680 18 Coventry 60,850 366,785 1,659 19 Swansea 40,830 246,466 1,657 20 Milton Keynes 43,030 268,607 1,602 21 Wolverhampton 41,710 262,008 1,592 22 Plymouth 41,090 263,100 1,562 23 Bournemouth 60,700 395,784 1,534 24 Southampton 38,350 252,796 1,517 25 Bolton 42,810 285,372 1,500 26 Swindon 32,960 221,996 1,485 27 Kingston Upon Hull 38,580 260,645 1,480 28 Stockport 39,480 291,775 1,353 29 Stoke-on-Trent 33,650 255,833 1,315 30 Rochdale 28,580 220,001 1,299 31 Oldham 29,280 235,623 1,243 32 Salford 31,460 254,408 1,237 33 Cardiff 42,030 364,248 1,154 34 Walsall 32,600 283,378 1,150 35 Sunderland 31,740 277,417 1,144 36 Bradford 49,940 537,173 930 37 Barnsley 22,580 245,199 921 38 Wigan 27,040 326,088 829 39 Rotherham 19,640 264,671 742 40 Wakefield 19,280 345,038 559 Show MoreShow Less The top 5 UK cities where alternative medicines are more common 1/ Bristol Number of annual Google searches per 10,000 people: 3,467 First up, we go to the south of England, where we have Bristol, with a total of 3,467 annual Google searches per 10,000 people and a vast array of healthcare centres that practice complementary alternative medicine methods. 2/ Manchester Number of annual Google searches per 10,000 people: 2,990 Next, we go north, up to Manchester which again has a few holistic and CAM centres – it would appear its application emphasises the “complimentary” here. With the exception of the College of Naturopathic Medicine, which believes in “natural medicine and healthy food”. 3/ Liverpool Number of annual Google searches per 10,000 people: 2,711 Liverpool, Manchester’s bitter rival in many ways, comes next with 2,711 annual Google searches per 10,000 people. Liverpool has its own Yelp page, with the best holistic and naturopathic health centres in the city and the ATCM clinic that specialises in acupuncture and Chinese traditional medicine. 4/ Glasgow Number of annual Google searches per 10,000 people: 2,606 Further north still, to Glasgow where the focus here seems to be on herbal medicines – with a clinic that has a sole focus on such. There are, however, some holistic medical centres too, which use modern medicine alongside CAM. 5/ Newcastle Number of annual Google searches per 10,000 people: 2,606 In the last top-five spot and our third northern city, we have Newcastle coming in with 2,423 Google searches per 10,000 people, making 60% of the top five cities in Northern England. Newcastle has multiple CAM and holistic treatment centres, namely Clinic Naturae and Newcastle Sanctuary House, the latter specialising in massage therapy, reiki and reflexology. Which countries have free healthcare for expats? We look at which countries offer universal healthcare Wherever you move, go with total peace of mind At William Russell, we have nearly 30 years of helping expatriates finding best places in the world to move abroad and settle into their new lives overseas by providing world-class international health insurance. Plus, we produce lots of expert material to help you and your family adapt to life abroad. Making the move to another country can be challenging. But no matter where you go, you can take one thing off your mind. William Russell offers international health insurance that covers you for everything from minor injuries to long hospital stays, and we can even offer medical evacuations to patients who require treatment in other countries. Looking for expat health insurance? Learn more about our plans Methodology Firstly, we acquired several lists: an exhaustive list of alternative medicine and then cut that down to the top 100 from our Google search data. We then took the 40 most populated UK cities and the 50 most populated countries in the world. Some countries were omitted due to them not providing Google search data. Once those lists were formed, we used Google Keyword Planner to gather search data for the three factors. The countries were then worked out for searches per 100,000 people, due to the sheer size of some of the countries and the UK city searches were calculated to per 10,000 people. Related articles Read More Health News Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnosis: How Is AI Supporting Diagnostics? Discover how artificial intelligence is playing an essential role in the field of medical diagnostics. Read More Brokers News Understanding Our Medical Network A summary of our medical networks for members when they receive inpatient and outpatient treatment. Read More Expat life Health The Best And Worst Cities For Healthcare In 2024 If you’re thinking about moving abroad, make sure you choose a destination with great healthcare. Read More Brokers News How We Calculate Your Renewal Premium Guidance on how we calculate your renewal premium and the factors we take into account.